From: alano@teleport.com (Alan Olsen)
To: cypherpunks@toad.com
Message Hash: 07d20c7d3df2fb16d67d8f29a73fb73022e33774bc4fae0e98534cdbf47b56cb
Message ID: <199409120154.SAA02958@teleport.com>
Reply To: N/A
UTC Datetime: 1994-09-12 01:54:31 UTC
Raw Date: Sun, 11 Sep 94 18:54:31 PDT
From: alano@teleport.com (Alan Olsen)
Date: Sun, 11 Sep 94 18:54:31 PDT
To: cypherpunks@toad.com
Subject: Just In Case You Missed It
Message-ID: <199409120154.SAA02958@teleport.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain
>Date: Sun, 11 Sep 1994 18:33:16 -0700
>From: Bruce Baugh <bruceab@teleport.com>
>To: alano@teleport.com
>Subject: Just In Case You Missed It
>
>
>>Path:
news.teleport.com!news.world.net!news.sprintlink.net!redstone.interpath.net!
ddsw1!panix!zip.eecs.umich.edu!newsxfer.itd.umich.edu!europa.eng.gtefsd.com!
swiss.ans.net!malgudi.oar.net!news.ysu.edu!doug
>>From: acbul1@penfold.cc.monash.edu.au (Andrew Bulhak)
>>Newsgroups: alt.humor.best-of-usenet
>>Subject: [alt.discordia] "official" Discordian secret code
>>Followup-To: alt.humor.best-of-usenet.d
>>Date: 12 Sep 1994 01:09:02 GMT
>>Organization: best of usenet humor
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>>NNTP-Posting-Host: unix1.cc.ysu.edu
>>X-Disclaimer: the "Approved" header verifies header information for
article transmission and does not imply approval of content. See .sig below.
>>Originator: doug@unix1.cc.ysu.edu
>
>From: snorri@nwu.edu (Snorri Abrahamsen)
>Newsgroups: alt.discordia
>Subject: "official" Discordian secret code
>
>
> In these days of NSA and Clipper and Key/Escrow and PGP and Wilkesman
>Kid Ranger Decoder Rings, it seems one of the things most on everyone's
>collective hive-like minds must be security. Security and privacy, make
>that.
> Now Discordians have always had a versatile and powerful secret code,
>one that has defied the efforts of the world's greatest spy-masters and
>crypto-fiends to crack for countless centuries (or at least since 1962 or
>so). It goes like this:
>
> A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
> 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26
>
> It's a damn fine code, and whoever invented it should get a big gold
>star, lots of LDD medals, and a beefy slap on the ass for good effort and
>sheer genius. But I'm afraid that now I have some *SHOCKING NEWS*!
>
> I have reason to believe that the Discordian secret code has been
>_compromised_. You know, "Loose lips sink ships" and all that, right?
>(Or is it, "Loose lips sink Golden Apple Corps"? I'm never sure...).
>Well, it was worse than loose lips. It is my suspiscion that some
>traitorous Discordian actually gave the code to the NSA.
>
> What to do now for all your Discordian encryption needs? I mean, it
>would now be insanely dangerous (or at least not very private) to use the
>old encryption scheme.
>
> I therefore propose creating a new Discordian secret code, perhaps based
>on a cypher model (where each character is represented by some word),
>although other models might work really well, too. Anyway, here's a start
>to a Discordian cypher...
>
> A Andersianism
> B Quasimodo
> C yorba linda
> D colostomy
> E chao
> F mojo
>
>etc...
>
> This is a fun scheme because the utter apparent randomness of it. Or at
>least it seems random... Anyway, it's probably not the best possible
>scheme for a Discordian Secret Code. Here's are some alternate schemes I
>had for encoding messages:
>
> * Implosion Method. Write message on lightbulb. Implode lightbulb.
>Recipient then reverses time continuum and grabs pre-imploded lightbulb
>from alternate timeline, reads message, and tosses back for implosion
>before anybody notices.
> Advantages: NSA Clipper plans (oddly enough) do not extend as far as
>including key/escrow chips in all time travel devices.
> Disadvantages: Useless against the Great Race of Yith.
>
> * St. Gulik Method. Write the message in radioactive ink on box paste
>and feed to specially trained homing cockroaches. Release the homing
>cockroaches to skitter home. Reassemble message from roach entrails.
> Advantages: Enemy cryptographers don't like touching roaches.
> Disadvantages: Kills the roaches; difficult to train them to go home.
>
> * O'Leary's Cow Method. Write message on paper and burn to ashes.
>Send ashes to recipient.
> Advantages: No way for enemy to decode message.
> Disadvantages: No way for recipient to decode message.
>
> * Formless Spawn Method. Write message on outer surface of trained
>Shoggoth in really strong permanent ink. As Shoggoth moves, message will
>be scrambled on its surface. With the proper command word, recipient can
>command shoggoth to assume original form(lessness), descrambling the
>message.
> Advantages: Message devours any enemy crytographer who tries to decode it.
> Disadvantages: No good if recipient fails sanity check.
>
>
> Any other suggestions for good encryption schemes would be welcome...
>I'm beginning to feel insecure already, as well as a little on the insane
>side (you try training a shoggoth to act as your message-pod...)
>
>
>--
>Postings to alt.humor.best-of-usenet reflect what the submittor considers to be
>the best in usenet humor, and the poster is responsible for the content. The
>moderator removes duplicates, copyrighted material, posts without headers, but
>does not drop articles based on content. See the group charter for more info.
>Sigs may be truncated. Moderator address: best@cc.ysu.edu
>--
>/-------------------------------------------------------------------------\
>|bruceab@teleport.com Bruce Baugh, thoroughly unaffiliated with Teleport|
>| "An' besides you IS a rabbit." "Not a 'nothing-BUT-a-rabbit', tho'." |
>\-------------------------------------------------------------------------/
>
>
|"I would call him a Beastialic Sadomasochistic | alano@teleport.com |
|Necrophile but that would be beating a dead | Disclaimer: |
|horse." -- Teriyaki (What's up Tiger Lily?) | Ignore the man |
| -- PGP 2.61 key available on request -- | behind the keyboard.|
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